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View Full Version : More penalties on traffic violations, fines increase



NewsWhore
06-26-2012, 03:10 PM
A legislative proposal presented by the director of the Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET), aimed at extending penalties for violators of Traffic Law 241, has been described as unnecessary by some jurists who recalled that these violations are of a penal nature, which means that effective application of the current laws would be sufficient. In his legislative proposal, AMET director Jose Anibal Sanz Jiminian suggested that anyone who violates the Traffic Law should be prohibited from leaving the country or from obtaining a license, as well as classifying anyone who goes through a red light as a terrorist.

Constitutional lawyer Olivo Rodriguez Huertas describes this as unnecessary and excessive, since the penal judges, when they feel it is needed, can impose travel restrictions, as covered in the Penal Process Code and without the need for new legislation. Also, lawyer Pablo Arredondo, a specialist on issues of highway safety, thinks that, while it might be necessary to stiffen the penalties for traffic violations, the right thing to do is change the type of violation from a simple infraction, as it is now, to a major crime. He believes that instead of specifying the traffic violations, what is required is to include the crime of high risk in the Penal Code as is done in other countries.

Arredondo agrees with engineer Mario Holguin, who says that the traffic problems require a stiffening of the penalties that are currently applied administratively, with fines. "Most countries that have stiffened the penalties for traffic violations have reduced the traffic-death rates, so I think that any legislation that has this effect would be beneficial," he said. Holguin stated that, although he does not know the full details of the proposal presented by the AMET director, this would be beneficial to the public given the "high and unacceptable" rates of traffic violations that are common nowadays.

Ramon Hernandez, also a lawyer, says that there are too many laws in this country and all that is required is to apply them effectively. "While it is true that our legal system is not perfect and should be adapted to modern times, the solution to our problems is not to make decisions in a hurry... There are laws here for everything and they are not obeyed, and if they are not obeyed, who is going to tell us that other new ones that come down the line will be obeyed?" asked Hernandez.

AMET in the Dominican Republic has stepped up its work and agents have imposed 26,710 traffic fines so far in June, for an average of 1,000 fines per day, as reported in Listin Diario today, Tuesday June 26. Of the total, 8,968 are for running red lights, said AMET spokesman Jose Jaquez, describing it as the most frequent violation. The second most common is using a cell phone and obstructing transit by parking.

He said that during the administration of General Jose Anibal Sanz Jiminian, some 809,402 fines have been issued for traffic violations.

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